John Sansone
John Sansone
County Counsel
County of San Diego |
John Sansone currently serves as County Counsel for the County of San Diego. The San Diego County Charter provides that County Counsel is the attorney for the County and is to defend all civil actions against the County, its officers, boards, commissions and employees, and to provide legal advice and other legal services to the Board of Supervisors. The County Counsel also provides legal services to County officers, departments, boards, commissions, courts, and certain county school districts and special districts. Mr. Sansone supervises a staff of 130, including 67 attorneys, with an annual budget of close to $13 million.
Since Mr. Sansone’s appointment to County Counsel, his office has been instrumental in assisting the County to achieve several major accomplishments. Among these are the sale of the County’s Solid Waste System for $185 million and the complex outsourcing of the County’s information technology operation. County Counsel retained expert outside counsel and guided all legal aspects of these large, complex, and challenging projects to their successful conclusion.
Mr. Sansone was appointed County Counsel in 1996 after a nationwide search to replace the former counsel who had held the post for approximately 13 years. At the time of his appointment, Mr. Sansone served as the Acting County Counsel. He originally joined the Office of County Counsel in 1985 as a Deputy County Counsel. Over the next several years, he quickly advanced up the ranks and in 1994 was appointed Chief Deputy County Counsel. He also served as the assigned attorney advising all County departments on employment and labor matters, and was the assigned legal counsel for the County’s grand jury, Board of Supervisors, and Chief Administrative office.
Prior to joining the County, Mr. Sansone had a civil law practice focusing primarily on the areas of business and education law, and served as legal counsel to a statewide and two western regional Professional University Administrator Associations. He also served as Associate Director of Financial Aid at the University of San Diego.
In 1998, Mr.Sansone was appointed by Governor Pete Wilson to the state’s Task Force on Trial Court Employees. The California Legislature established the panel, and charged it with making recommendations on trail court operations and personnel structure. The Task Force’s recommendations were incorporated into legislation that changed the organizational structure of trial courts throughout California.
He is a 1981 graduate of the University of San Diego School of Law. In addition to his law degree, Mr. Sansone holds a master’s degree in university administration from Indiana University and a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Westminster College in Pennsylvania. He and his wife, Jennifer, reside in University City with their two daughters.
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